Apparatus for the carbonization and distillation of wood



sept. 18,192a m8415875 R. MALBAY^ APPARATUS FOR THE GARBONIZATION ANU DISTILLATION OF WOOD Filed April 21, 1925 l 2 Sheel'.s'-Sheeb 1 sept 1s, lsza R. MALBAY APPARATUS FOR THE CABONIZATION AND DISTILLATION OF WOOD Filed April 21. 1925 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 -Patented Sept. 18,` 1928..

UNITED STATE- S PATENT OFFICE.

RAPHAL MALBAY. or rams; marca.

APPARATUS FOR THE CARBONIZATION' .AND DISTILLATIQN F WOOD.

Application vinea aprn 21, 1925,ser1a1m. 24,887, 111111111 France iiiy s, 1924.

The present invention has for its object an apparatus for the carbonization and the distillation of wood which is operated with facility and affords a high efficiency as regards both the carbonization and the distillation.

The said apparatus is chiefiy characterized by the `fact that it comprises firstly a double-walled retort mounted upon trunnions by which it can be completely overturned. while the communi cat-ion between the said retort and the gas conduits is automatically cutoff by the rotating'movement, and secondly a truck support-ing the furnace and the damping box, whereby either of these two elements can be brought below the retort.

Other features of the invention will be mentioned in the following description .by means of which the spirit of the invcntton willbe readily understood; Said description refers to the appended drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical diagrammatical section. through the triinnions. of one embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, with the retort in the operative position, and

Fig. 2 a vertical diagrammatical section at right angles with Fig. 1, through the axis of the retort, the latter being overturned for empt inourposes. D,

Fig. 3P`ispa section on the line 3-3- of Fig. 1. showing one of the trunnions of the retort on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4--4 of Fig.

'Fig'. 5 is a detail view of the flange and groove connection of the retort and the furnace.

As shown in the drawing. the apparatus which is `illustrated by way of example, com prises a vertical retort 1 having a loading aperture 2 at thetop, closed by a cover 3.

Said retort is surrounded by an envelope 4 carrying at the proper height trunnions 5 and 5 which are mounted in bearings'or supports 6.

The trunnion 5 carries a worm wheel 7 which is secured to the retort and engages a worm' 8. which is mounted on the frame 6. By operating the said'worm the retort can be overturned or can be brought intojall the intermediate positions.

Adjacent the said loading orifice, tne retort 1 is a gas discharge orifice 9 connected by a conduit 22 firstly with the trunnion 5 and an outlet 10, and secondly with the lower part of the outer jacket 4, into which the conduit 22 opens at' 11. The orifice 11 may be closed by the valve 12.- At the upper part of the said jacket is an orifice 13 which communicates with the trunnion 5tl and the outlet 14. The bottom part 15 of said jacket has actruncated cone shape and is provided with grooves 16 adapted to coo erate with corresponding fianges 171 of At e wall 17, furnace 17 (Fi 5) and by means"v of which the latter may e connected to the jacket.

In Figs. 3 and 4 the trunnion 5 is shown in detail view. Each trunnion is provided with an aperture 5" and bears upon a lining 6a of the bearing 6. The outlet conduit 10 has an enlarged end 10 fitting upon the trunnion 5 and covering the aperture 5" when tlie same has rotated to the uppermost position. Longitudinally extending flanges 1()b engage the trunnion 5 in order to insure the necessaryI tightness. The flanges 10b are pressed against the trunnion 5 by means of a cap 6l having a bore 6d through which extends the end 10a of the conduit 10. The cap 6b is secured upon the bearing 6 bymeans of bolts 6*". The construction of the trunnion 5EL is identical. l

The conduit 10 is connected to the distillation gas piping and the conduit 14- to-thef l stack (not shown). y

Due to the apertures'20 situated at different heights and closed by suitable Stoppers 20a an adequate connection can be provided between'the interior of the retort and the atmosphere for the admission of air or .for introducing a temperature-measuring apparatus within the said retort. The said stoppers are preferably provided'with sight holes so that a simple inspection will show the progress of the operation. f

Between the uprights 6 of the frame is laid a track 9 for' a carriage or truck 18 carrying the furnace 17; on the said carriage is also mounted a damping box 21, Fig. .2.4

The operation is effected in the following manner. By a suitable operation by the worm 8,- the retort is first brought into the horizontal position, and is then filled with wood; the cover is then put in place'and the retort turned into the vertical position (Fig.

1). The truck is then moved forward so as to bring the flanges 17? of the wall 17 of the furnace 17 (preliminarily ignited into the grooves 15 said furnace being elow the jacket 4 In this position of the retort the apertures 5b of both trunnions 5 and 5a are at their uppermost osition, whereby the communication is a orded between said trunnions and the conduits 1() and 14. The valve 12 is opened and the Stoppers 20a are removed at the upper part. Due to the chimney draught at 14, the combustion gases of the furnace 17 will escape to the stack. y

At the beginning of the operation, air and steam will be disengaged and steam will be discharged, through the apertures 2,0. The steam and air which would tend to pass into the conduit are impelled at the lower part` of the retort, through the" conduit 22, by the chimney draught. As the temperature rises distillation gases are produced. At this time, the apertures are closed by means of the Stoppers 20, and the gas, passinoP through the orifice 9, and the valve 12 will be circulated below the retort through the orifice 11 and will burn when in contact with the flame of the said furnace, thus affording a very rapid carbonization. When a suicient temperature has been obtained, the valve .12 is progressively closed, whereby the major portion of the distillation gas will escape through the conduit 10, a very small portion of gas passing through said valve, if necessary in order to keep the temperature at the desired degree.

The burnt gas issues from the orifice 13 at the top of the said jacket and is discharged into the atmosphere through the outlet 14 and the draught chimney or stack, not

shown. When the gas ceases to be produced, y

the heating is continued for a certain time damping box.

until the carbonization is complete. The cover .3 is removed and the truck 18 is brought so as to place the damping box 21- below the apparatus, the retort being overturned into the position shown in Fig. 2, so

that the charcoal will drop into the said The retort is again filled with Wood, and a succeedingy operation is commenced.

If the operation is to be performed on a large scale, batteries of such retorts are pro-` vided and said retorts are o erated in series, i. e. .the gas produced in a glven retort is delivered Into the succeeding retort, Whereb the total ,amount of heat will be utilize Only one ofthe retorts is loaded at a time, so that the operation is performed in a continuous manner.

The operation of'each retort is as above stated; however, in order to effect the recovery of the by-products, the as from each of the said retorts-isdischarge through the outlet 10, and instead of being circulated directly into the furnace of the succeeding retort-it is circulated into condensers scrubbers and like devices. This Willaii'ord a suitable distillation of the wood, and only the non-condensable gases arev employed for combustion purposes.

It will be observed that'by re'as'on of the arrangement of the orifices of the gas conduits through the trunnions of the a paratus, the said conduits may be lclose `by means of the said trunnions, and the latter thus serve as valves coacting with the bearings of the frame when the vretort is pivoted; at this time the connection through the orifices 10 and 14 is cut off, and the apparatus is thus automatically closed.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let# ters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for the carbonization of -wood comprising a fixed frame, an elongated retort having two spaced walls forming a substantially annular chamber, trunnions carried by the outer Wall of said retort and rotatably supported by said frame, the axis of said trunnions being at right angle to the longitudinal axis of said retort, a distillationY gas collecting conduit and a burnt gas exhaust conduit, said conduits opening respectivelyinto the retort yand into said annular chamber and having parts extending respectively through said trunnions, a branch pipe opening at one end into said collecting conduit and at the other end into said annular chamber, means for burning the gas delivered from said branch pipe into said annular chamber, and means for rotating said 4retort about said trunnions.

2. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 1, the further feature residing in the provision of throttling means on said branch pipe.

3. An apparatus for the carbonization of wood comprising a fixed frame, bearings provided in said frame, an elongated retort hav ing two spaced walls forming a substantially annular chamber, hollow trunnions carried by the outer wall of said retort and rotatably mounted in said bearings, the axis of said trunnions being at right angle to the longitudinal axis of said retort, means for rotatsaid .gas passage in the bearings is aii'orded for one position of said retort about its axis of rotation and iscut off for another position of said retort, a branch pipe opening at one end into said collecting conduit and at l los the other end into said annular chamber and means for'burning the gas delivered from aid branchv pipe into said annular cham- 4. In an apparatus as claimed in claiml,

the further feature residing in the provision 5 at the periphery of the retort and through said walls and annular chamberof air inlet means adapted to afford communication betweenthe interior of the retort and the at- `mosphere and closing members removably 'name to this specification.

RAPHAL MALBAY. 

